10 great things about being admitted in the hospital

I wasn’t the one admitted, it was my father – who is currently suffering from liver disease. Being the nurse in the family, I am the one that is left in the hospital room with him when the visiting time is over. He had infection and the doctor decided to admit him immediately. My sister and I joked about it, telling pops that we were on vacation. Yes, I am worried – very much so. We try to keep things light in the family. Pops is a worry-wart and we (my sister and I) form a perfect diversion.  Him being sick is perhaps this is one of the reasons why I prefer to work at home, to take care of him. According to statistics, the average age of men dying is 65, my pops haven’t received his senior citizen’s ID yet, so we are optimistic that he’s going to live for many years.

When he was diagnosed with the liver disease, the doctor opted for home treatment. He was relieved of the symptoms and worked hard on his habits and diet. I know it was hard for him, I even remember him asking me if he was dying. I told him not to get excited because he was going to get well, even if I spend every centavo I earn to buy him those liver vitamins. Yes, there is no cure with liver diseases because the organ regenerates by itself. Usually, what they have are just vitamins to boost the regeneration of the liver, and it doesn’t come cheap. He gave up drinking and unhealthy eating. So far, so good until the hematuria (Google it!).  This thing brought us to the hospital and now, here I am, away from my beloved desktop and shelves. All I have right now is my netbook, BB and a whole lot of caffeine.

Look into the bright side and try to block your senses with the bills, because that is one thing that makes hospital admissions hell – knowing every day the bill increases. Every time the laboratories are requested, they are going to find something wrong and they are going to prick you until they found out what the heck is wrong with you or until your vein collapses. So, here are some nice things about being admitted:

1. No work and more TV! (as for me, more time to read books on my mobipocket reader). Got several stuffs here recently uploaded and couldn’t wait to read it while sitting and waiting for our discharge notice.
2. Air-conditioned room, it’s really cold that I have to wear my (brother’s) jacket. Considering it is hot outside, this is a blessing.
3. Free food. But I don’t eat my pop’s food since it is full diabetic diet and low in cholesterol – it’s like chewing something inside your mouth and not really sure if you are eating of just exercising your jaws until you swallow. Visitors who come brings food from different fast food chain. Ummmm… wait…. Okay. This may not be great after all. I’d probably be obese by the time we get out of here.
4. Non-stop water. The water is free flowing and you don’t have to schedule when you should take a bath.
5. Free electricity. I can go online 24/7 without worrying about electricity bills and even charge all by phones at the same time.
6. Family reunion. You text every member of the family and poof! Instant family reunion.
7. Cuties. There are a lot of cute nurses and doctors roaming around the hospital when you go site-seeing. Of course, I don’t get out of the room too much, I hate to imagine bacteria clinging unto my shirt. Not good for pops.
8. Review my old stuffs.  It is hard when one of the folks belong to the medical field. He or she is going to have a field day asking questions about this and that. When I was on duty, it was always mentioned in the endorsement that there is a nurse/doctor from this or that room. If I have any choice back then, I wouldn’t want to be assigned in there. But since I am the folks right now, I wanted to know what and why they are injecting stuffs to my pops. I need some explanation, and of course a review of my old notes. I’m cannot suck all information from the books and retain it in my brain, so I check them out again to make sure that they are doing the right thing and not experimenting. I have been staying long inside the hospital, and I know a lot of clinical errors to list them here.
9. Get to spend your insurance. My father doesn’t have one but mom made him beneficiary or dependent on hers (I don’t really understand the technical terms) but at least, you get to use what you have pai for.
10. You get well. That’s probably the best thing for almost all cases. You get the best possible care and everything will be checked. 

Nevertheless,  there is no place like home...